Agreement Reached to Reconcile Financial Reform Bill

Early Friday morning, after weeks of negotiations, a House-Senate committee
reached a reconciliation agreement on the financial reform bill.

The agreed upon bill is broad in scope and includes, among other provisions:
new consumer protections, increased federal oversight of banks, and changes
to how companies can trade
derivatives. The bill also creates a new, 10-member council of regulators, led by
the Treasury Secretary, whose job will be to monitor threats to the financial
system, according to the Associated Press.

In a speech made early Friday morning, President Obama said: "The
reforms making their way through Congress will hold Wall Street accountable
so we can help prevent another financial crisis like the one that we're
still recovering from."

The reconciled bill, which members of the House approved 20-11 and Senate
negotiators approved 7-5, must now be passed. Votes were cast along party lines.

When asked whether he will be able to get the new version through the
Senate, Obama replied: "You bet." He hopes to sign the bill
into law by July Fourth, according to an
article by NPR.